Gate valve



Patented Oct. 18, 1927,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WYLIE GEMMEL WILSON, OI ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

GATE VALVE.

Application filed January 6,

This invention relates to improvements in a gate valves. Its object is to produce a gate valve; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional and plan view looking down at line'22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section through a wall of the sealing ring.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of that face of the wedge shaped carrier on which the sealing ring is positioned and shows the sealing ring and in dotted lines the position of the port in relation to the sealing ring when the valve is in the closed position.

In the drawings, the upper portion 1 of the under casing has a chamber 2 for reception of the gate valve when lifted. Thechambar is formed with horizontal, opposed, spaced apart wall portions 3, through which the transverse, alined ports 4 and 4 are formed. The bottom of the under portion of the casing is recessed on its upper side at 6. The under wall portion 7 of the casing forms the under walls of the ports 4 and 4 The opposed side portions 8 of the casing, parallel to the opposed portsA and 4, are provided with vertical guide ribs 9. The Wall portions 3 and '7- are alined and formed with fiat, downwardly convergent, tapered walls 10 and 11, the wall,10.-enclosing one\.

- port and the wall llenclosing the other port.

The other opposite sides 8 of the wedge shaped packing rin carrier. 12,"para1hal to the ports 4 and 4, ave recesses 13 fofree CGPtIODOf the guide ribs 9, the packing ring carrier having four sides and the portion of the casing chamber in which the walls 10 and 11 are formed also having four sides, in the present form of the invention. The intake port is indicated by 4, the discharge port b 4. I

On ts tapered side 0 posed to the wall 10, the carrier has a circu ar wall 14 having a recess 15 which is opposed to the discharge port4.

1926. Serial No. 79,572.

The packing ring receiving wall of the carrier is formed with a packing ring receiving recess 16 of cup form and the side wall of the cup is indicated by 17. The bottom wall of the cup is downwardly and inwardly slanted. A sealing or packing ring is mounted in this cup and has a projecting sealing surface for contact with the circular wall 1.1.

The upper end of carrier 12 has connected with it at 18 the under end of an upwardly extending spindle 19 which passes through a stufiing box 20 mounted on the transverse bottom plate 21 of an upstanding bracket 22. Plate 21 forms the cover for chamber 2 and is clamped to the under casing by bolts 23' and nuts 24: in a well known manner. A gasket 25 is interposed between the plate 21 and the flange 26 of casing 1, through which bolts pass upwardly througha mar in of the plate 21. The top portion of the racket is constructed in a well known manner at 27 for reception of the upper end of spindle 19, the upper end of which is in threaded connection with a thimble 28 provided with a hand wheel 29.

The sealing or packing ring S is made up of asbestos laminae w compressed or compacted and united together, usually by vulcanization. This ring or annulus lsmade dense and stiff b v the compression of the united laminae an yet is slightly elastic and very slightly compressible. It substantially rctains its form under pressure. Being made of united layers, it must be kept compressed and supported While in use, because it-sof-- tens ,to a considerable but variable extent when subjected to steam or other fluid under pressure, the edges of the laminae and the sealing surface then tending to separate to a greater or less degree, as is usual with prior. asbestos packing rings made of a strip wound iipon itself and having flat paralleF faces, oneof which flat faces forms a sealing surface.

The ring has a central openin 30 forming a recess at the front of the c ampingand compressmn plate 38; opposed, clampable walls 31 and 32; andwrritssgling face side, a sealing surface 33 which is litweenlbgk: wardly tapered 33 and the clampable wall 31 or 32. The sealin surface is formed of edges-of the united laminae which in use contact with the tapered face of the circular or annular wall 11. While these tapered edges perform ortions 34, each tapered portion 34 being etween the sealing surface the interine iate laminae and also serve as spacers to hold the sealing surface apart from the annular cup wall 17 and from the backwardly tapered peripheral wall 37 of the rin clamping and compression plate 38 which is fixed to the carrier by a screw 39 through a central opening in the clamping and compression plate.

The carrier 12 being wedge shaped on its back and ring carrying, front side, is guided in its reciprocations by the ribs 9 and recesses 13, when the hand wheel 29 is rotated. The sealing face of the packing ring, asit is brought into seating position and as it is initially lifted, wipes against the wall 11 which forms the valve.seat. The recess 6 receives the under end of the carrier 12 when the valve is seated. The interior diameter of the sealing or packing ring, projects towards. wall 11 beyond the face of the clamping and sealing position, the sealing-edges of the windings in the sealing face arenot torn,

frayed or disrupted by the frictionized movements to which they are then subjected because they are supported by the exterior and interior adjacent laminae which afford them in conjunction with the rigid members, unfrictionized support, such exterior and interior laminae exposed exteriorly and interiorl from rictionized rubbing.

By this invention also the sealing face of the packing ring has an interior diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the adjacent port wall and in sealing position the contacting sealing surfaces are spaced a art from the entrant corner portion of t e adjacent sealed port. It is ex eeedingly important when the valve is first put into service, that this condition exist. After the valve has been. operated many times and the-packingringthus subject to continual compression with resultant increased density of the packing ring, it is not harmful if the edge of the packin ring, due to wearin down of the surface 0 thepacking ring, ally slightlypass the edge of the rt at the'momnt of final seating, because at this time the surface of the packing ring has become definitely hardened and the.

whole packing rin so compacted that protrusion of the pee ing ring into the port, due to the ressure put upon it by the wedge action of t e carrier does not occur prejpd idaily; But when first putinto service, it is around the sealing face being free' very important that the interior peripheral front margin of the sealing surface of the packin ring should not become opposed to the ad acent port while in seated position, because in that case such margin would be protruded into the port and on an unseating movement the protruded portion of the sealing ring would be brought into contact with the peripheral back corner of the port wall and the windings torn.

In the same way, on seating movement, any protrusion of the packing ring into the port on the bottom corner portion of the inner arcuate edge of the bottom portion would similarly tear or disrupt the packing ring laminae. It is only necessary that the upper and under' arcs of the packing ring form a recess longer than the vertical axis of the port, because it is in a Sliding movement across the port that the disruption of the winding occurs.

The cross sections of the intake and outlet ports may be varied in shape and the form of apparatus in which this invention is embodied may be varied.

An lmportant object of this sealing ring construction is to permit the sealing ring to be moved across a port for openingor closng it without tearing the edges of the wind- 1ngs in the actual sealing face. But in this particular application, it is not to be understood that my invention is necessarily limited to a packing ring of wound. precompressed asbestos material. It is only essential that under all conditions the cross sectional area of the port immediately adjacent the packing ring must be less than the opposed recess on the front face of the packing ring.

The packing 1 ring itself is not herein claimed because it forms .the subject matter of my pending application Scr. No. 79.568, filed Jan. 6, 1926. Wear on edges of the windings or laminae 1n the sealing ring merely wears down the width of the layer but does not destroy it; and edge contact of the sealing ring laminae with the metallic valve seat is of the highest 1m ortanoe in securing and maintaining tlg t joints of the seated elements.

In order to produce the simmest kin d of back walls of the wedge shaped carrier be ilu Iii

equally inclined to the axis of the spindle.

the carrier being then'formed as a wedge which fits with reasonable exactitud'e between the opposed sloping faces 10 and 11 of the casing. With this construction, the wed shaped carrier travels always in a straight line as each of the sloping faces has the same angle and consequentlv, each of them equally pushes the wedge shaped corner toward the axis of the spindle. when the wedge is moved into place. It is very desirable that only one of the faces of the wedge should have a packing because it is desirable to have as little downward movement of the wedge shaped carrier after contact is once established between the face on the wed e and the corresponding tapering face on t e ca'sin as is possible, for two reasons :first, to'reduce the rubbing wear on the packing face, and :--second, to obtain the maximum number of such compressions of the ring or packing face as occur in closing the valve, and produce impacting of the packing face with consequent ability of the wedge to move further down, before the upper edge of the recess at travels sufiiciently far down to coincide with the upper edge of the port 4. The upper edge of the recess is the inner edge ofthe upper portion of the sealing face.

It has-hitherto been customary in gate valvesftomake each side of the wedge a sealing face, inthe vain hope of thus obtaining. a leak-tight seal.

Such double sealing effect is wholly unnecessary in m gate valve becausethe single sealing-face o packing with the recess over the -port forms an absolutely effective. leak- -tightseal and consequently no additional seal isnecessary.

The metallic faces 10 and 13 at the back side ,of the. wedge do incidentally form a seal t'o a certain degree, but very soon, due to. cutting and grooving from movement of the facesunder pressure from each other,

such'sea-l becomes practically inoperative.

As a result of my invention, wh1le there are two sloping faces in the casing and two sloping faces of the carrier correspond ng th'erewith, yet the sealing ring of packing is only at one of the ports in the port casing and l'a" gate valve is obtainable that has successfully withstood numerous heavy discharge tests.

-.While the present invention is shown embodied in. a gate valve and some of the apsealing face wears down through use, the

wedge shaped carrier travels further across the port before it'reaches the final sealing position, in consequence of reduction in the thickness of the ring. This further travel makes the lower edge" of the recess of the sealing ring travel further away-from the {lower edge of the port and the upper edge 60 -i1pper edge of the port. Consequently, the

of the recess travel downwardly nearer the upper edge of the recess is spaced apart from the upper edge of the port, further than the lower edge of the recess is spaced from the lower edge of the port, when the sealing ring is in final sealing position. The change in the relative positions of these edges is thus compensated for so that with a minimum size of ring, a maximum number of sealing operations may occur before, due to wear as described, the upper edge of the recess coincides with the upper edge of the port. As a consequence of this it is obvious that the center ofthe distance from the upper edge of the recess to the lower edge of the recess, measured on the line of travel, stops short of the center of a similar dimension of the port when the valve is first made, and even after considerable use. In general practice, the distance by which the sealing face of the sealing element extends beyond a port which it seals is commonly referred to as lap or overlap; but in the present case I thus refer to the amount by which the recess plus the sealing face of the sealing element extends beyond the edge of the port when the sealing element is m a closed position.

The immediately foregoing matter is illustrated by Fig. 4.

The practical importance of this inv'engion has been demonstrated by the following acts.

Vith its metal face and sealing ring of the precise form herein shown, and the sealing ring-being of dense, non-metallic and but slightly compressible material, the valve, under steam at sixty pounds pressure was absolutely leak tight after over four thousand operations and was leak tight after each separate operation; whereas, when the same valve structure was modified by substitution for its aforesaid sealing ring of a sealing ring of the same materal, but having an interior diameter slightly less than the diameterof the port and held in place by a clamping and compression plate of lesser face diameter than the diameter of the port, the valve leaked after a very few operations under said steam pressure of sixty pounds.

I have purchased in the market and have tested the best known gate valves of different makes, under sixty pounds steam pressure and none of them proved leak tight after fifty operations, most of the them leaking after ten operations. It will be observed that the face of ,my clamping and compression plate 37 has a considerably greater diameter than the sealing wall 11 surrounding the port, the front outer margin'of the plate overlapping the sealing wall 11. Thus,'-the clamping and compression plate serves to prevent projection of any part of the sealing ringinto the port, dur- 1ng operating movements, when the carrier 12 is under steam or other fluid pressure through port 4 for pressing the sealing surfaces or elements into sealing contact. The present invention may be regarded as in the nature of an improvement on the straightway valve shown in Jenkins" United States Patent #587,439 of Aug. 3, 1897.

As plainly shown in Fig. 1, the recess the front of the sealing ring has, relatively to the port 4 and its enclosing sealing wall 11, an overlapping relation that is nearly twice as great at the upper portion of the sealing wall 11 as it is at the under portion of said wall, such greater overlapping occurring at the point or place where thesealing ring, while moving to closed position, first overlaps the sealing wall around the port. This condition is effective to prolong the working life of the valve; and for brevity, that portion of the sealing ring that has the greater overlap may be calledsthe sealing ring heel and that portion of the sealing ring which has the lesser overlap may be called the sealing ring toe. The sealing ring carrier may also be termed a valve head.

What I claim is:

1. In a valve, the combination with a valve casing having opposed ports each enclosed by a flat, inclined valve seat wall, of a wedge shaped sealingring carrier having a sealing ring receiving recess formed with aside wall of uniform diameter; a precompa'cted sealing ring having a slightly elastic sealing face and a main body portion dimensioned to make a close initial fit with said wall; a rigid, bevelled edge clamping plate and means for fastenin it in place; the clamping plate having a iameter substantially exceeding the diameter of one of said ports said one port when the valve is closed, such latter valve seat wall having an exterior diameter substantiall greater than the diame ter of the plate an also than the outside di ameter of the sealing ring face; the sealing ring projecting forwar'dl of the carrier and the clamping plate, and iaving exterior and interior tapered, corner' portions between which the elastic sealing face is formed; and carrier operating means effective to move said sealing ring face into opposition to said latter valve seat wall with the clamping plate margin opposed thereto; said carrier,

operating means being also effective to wedge the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, whereby no part of the sealing face is projectable into theport' and whereby, on joint forming compression of the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, the outer tapered corner portion of the face ;a;nd;"a main body the sea and overlapping the valve seat wall aroundsealing'Q-ring having a slightly elastic sealing,

ortion dimensione to make-a close initial t with said wall; a rigid,- bevelled edge clamping mean-s'for'fastenin it in place; t e clamping- ""late having a iameter substantially exceemg the diameter of one of said ports andjever'lappin the valve seat wall around saidpneport w en the valve, is closed, such latter valve seat wall having an exterior diameter substantiall greaterjhan the diameter of the plate an" also thanthe outside diameter of the sealing ring face; the sealin ring projecting forwardl of the carrier an the clamping plate, and having exterior and interior ta ered, corner portions between which the-e astic sealing face is formed; and carrier operating means effective to move said sealing ring face-into opposition to said latter valve seat wall with the clamping late and I plate margin opposed thereto; said carrier 3 operating means being also. effective to wedge the. sealing face against said latter valve seat wad-"whereby no part of the sealing face is projectable into the port and wherebIy, onv joint forming compression of ing face against sai latter valve seat wall, theouter tapered corner portion of the ring is not compressible into a. disintegratable fin between the carrier and the outer margin of said latter valve-seat wall.

3. In a valve, the combination with a valve casing having opposed ports, each port having adjacent thereto, a rigid face, and one of the ports being enclosed by said rigid face and said rigid face, being a fiat, inclined, valve seat wall, of awedge shaped sealing ring carrier having a sealing ring receiving recess formed with a sidewall for contact with a portion of the periphery of a sealing ring; a precompacted sealing ring having a slightly elastic sealing face and a main'body portion dimensioned to make a close initial -fit with said wall; a rigid, bevelled edge clamping plate and means for fastening it in place; the clamping plate having a diameter substantially exceeding the diameter of one of said ports and overlapping the valve seat wall around said one port when the valve is closed, such latter valve seat wall having an exterior diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the plate and also than the outside diameter of the sealing ring face; the sealing ring projecting forwardly of the carrier and the clamping plate, and having exterior and interiortapered. corner portions between which the elasticseahng face is formed; and carrier operating means effective to move said'sealing ring face into opposition to said latter valve seat wall with the clamping plate. margin "opposed thereto; said carrier operating means being also effective to wedge the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, whereby no part of the sealing face is projectable into the port and whereby, on joint forming compression of the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, the outer tapered corner portion of the ring is not compressible into a disintegratable fin betweenthe carrier and the outward margin of said latter valve seat wall.

4. In a valve, the combination with: a valve casing having opposed ports, one of which is enclosed by a flat, inclined, valve seat Wall, of a wedge shaped sealing ring carrier having a sealing ring receiving recess formed with a side wall for contact with a portion of the periphery of a sealing ring; a precompacted sealing ring having a slightly elastic sealing face and a main body portion dimensioned. to make a close initial fit with said wall; a rigid, bevelled edge clamping plate and means for fastening it in place; the clamping plate having-a diameter substantially exceeding the diameter of one of said ports and overlapping the valve seat wall around said one port when the valve is closed, such latter valve seat wall u having an exterior diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the late and also than the outside diameter of t e sealing ring face; the sealing ring projecting forwardly of the carrier and the clamping plate, and having exterior and interior tapered, corner portions between which the elastic sealing face is formed; and carrier operating means effective to move said sealing ring face in opposition to said latter valve seat wall with the clamping plate margin opposed thereto; said carrier operating means being also effective to wedge the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, whereby no part of the sealing face is projectable into the port and whereby, on joint forming compression of the sealing face against said latter valve seat wall, the outer tapered corner portion of the ring is not compressible into a disintegratable fin between the carrier and theuoutward margin of said latter valve seat wa Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 23d day of December, A. D. 1925.

WYLIE GEMMEL WILSON. 

